Penguins’ stars shine in win over Red Wings
PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins returned from their bye week and picked up right where they left off.
Malkin had two goals and two assists, and the Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Saturday for their third consecutive victory.
“It’s always fun when you win and have more confidence,” Malkin said. “Your game is better, the mood is better, and now we’re feeling so much better.”
Phil Kessel added a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh, which had dropped its last three games against Detroit. Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist, and rookie Tristan Jarry stopped 29 shots in his third straight start while Matt Murray is home in Canada tending to a family matter.
The Penguins have won four of five after dropping seven of their previous 10. Their three-game win streak is their longest since they won four in a row from late November into December.
“I think we’ve felt good about our last couple games going into the break,” Crosby said. “I don’t think we rest on that. I think we try to continue to get better.”
Justin Abdelkader scored for the Red Wings, who lost their second straight after a four-game winning streak. Jimmy Howard made 32 saves after missing one game with a lower-body injury.
Detroit went 1 for 7 on the power play. Pittsburgh was 2 for 5. ISLANDERS 7, RANGERS 2: Mathew Barzal had two goals and three assists, Anthony Beauvillier added two goals and an assist, and the Islanders beat the Rangers on the road for their ninth win in the last 10 meetings of the crosstown rivals. Shane Prince, Thomas Hickey and Cal Clutterbuck also scored, helping the Islanders to the victory in both teams’ first game after their respective five-day byes. Jordan Eberle had four assists in the Isles’ highest scoring game of the season, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 37 shots. Kevin Hayes and Mika Zibanejad scored for the Rangers, who have lost three of four.
FLYERS 5, DEVILS 3: Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist and Philadelphia posted their fourth straight win and extended New Jersey’s slide to a season-high six games with a road victory. Wayne Simmonds, Travis Konecny and Michael Raffl also scored for the Flyers, who have won five of six overall. Jesper Bratt, Kyle Palmieri and Drew Stafford scored for the Devils, who are 0-3-3 for their skid. WILD 4, JETS 1: Matt Dumba had two goals, Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund also scored and Minnesota beat Winnipeg at home. Mathieu Perreault had Winnipeg’s goal.
BRUINS 4, CANADIENS 3, SO: Brad Marchand scored the winning shootout goal to five Boston a road win in Montreal.